1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method and apparatus for dispensing preselected lengths of strip material from a roll and particularly to a dispenser that includes a pivoted bracket member which frictionally engages a portion of the strip material while it is being severed from the roll.
Throughout the specification and claims the term strip material is intended to designate thin sheets or web wound as a roll that has a cylindrical configuration. The strip material may be thin bendable plastic material, metallic film, paper products such as paper towels and the like which are capable of being severed or cut by being pulled against the resistance of a knife edge on a dispenser.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Dispensers for strip materials are known. U.S. Pat. No. 4,130,228 discloses a container for a roll of wax paper that has a serrated edge portion concealed during shipment and thereafter exposed for severing a preselected length of wax paper.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,314,849, 2,336,842 and 2,331,651 disclose similar dispensers which require one hand to frictionally hold the strip of paper while the other hand severs the strip from the roll. U.S. Pat. No. 2,405,459 discloses a dispenser with a multi-ply front wall which provides a rigid serrated edge for severing the strip from the roll. U.S. Pat. No. 3,843,034 discloses a clamping blade and elastic back up member to sever the strip from the roll. U.S. Pat. No. 4,267,949 discloses a dispenser for separating a tape along oblique slots by a combination of guide channels and a member that presses the tape into engagement with the guide channels. U.S. Pat. No. 2,613,879 discloses elastic jaws between which the strip is squeezed as the free end portion is severed from the roll.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,122,674 and 1,122,673 disclose paper towel dispensers which include fingers or toothed edges to disengage or sever the towel along transverse perforations.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,683,641 discloses a dispenser with a downwardly facing serrated edge on a flange above a dispensing lip which permits severing of the strip by an upward pull against the serrated edge.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,702,672 discloses a plastic bag dispenser where friction rings limit the dispensing of the bags and a large U-shaped friction surface provides the friction to separate the bags at the perforated boundary. A serrated knife edge is not used to sever a bag from the roll.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,244,502 discloses a ticket dispenser where the ticket has curved slits and the downward pull on the ticket, severs the ticket at the slits by an indexing member. U.S. Pat. No. 4,384,664 discloses a dispenser for serial number tickets where the tickets have a central lip and the lateral edges are severed by the dispenser.
There is a need for a dispenser where a vertical movement of the strip of material in one direction permits strip material to be withdrawn from a dispenser and movement of the strip material in the opposite direction permits the length of strip material withdrawn from the dispenser to be severed from the roll.